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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
The sputter-erosion of hcp Co (0001) single crystal with Ar+ ionsin the 100 to 700 eV energy range was investigated using in-situ time-resolved x-ray scattering. At temperaturesabove 300°C the surface remains relatively smooth, erosion evolving througha layer-by-layer or step flow mechanism. In this regime the ions have asmoothening effect on the surface and the resulting roughness decreases withincreasing ion energy. Below 300°C the surface develops a pattern of moundsor pits with a characteristic wavelength. The time, ion energy andtemperature dependence of this wavelength were studied in detail. EpitaxialCo thin films thermally evaporated on sapphire were also sputtered throughin order to synthesize self-assembled arrays of Co nanoclusters with anarrow size distribution. The degree of local order within the Co dot arrayswas examined using atomic force microscopy.